A Year of Card Techniques - (July) Watercoloring

If you are here for the Under the Sea Blog Hop, please go HERE, or you can check out all of my hops for today (there's only two!). We'd I'd love to have you!

Welcome to...

It's month seven of our year long adventure into different card-making techniques, folds and paper crafting products. We hope you got the chance to hop with us each month.It's not to late to hop and comment to be entered into our prize drawing. If you missed any of the previous months,  you can click on the month to be taken directly to the start of that month's hop.
January HERE   February HERE   March HERE   April HERE   May HERE   June HERE

This month we are playing with watercoloring and you won't want to miss the amazing and fun cards we've got for you today. We really love feedback, so please leave a comment on each of the blogs in today's hop. Each comment on the 12 hops throughout the year will be entered into a drawing for a $25 Blitsy.com or Stampin' Up gift certificate (Winner's Choice).

Now on with the projects!

I tried several types of paper... one of them being THIS (above). Watercolor Cardstock is thick and absorbs the watercolors the water fairly well but doesn't let the colors run like I wanted it to... Oh! And it curls less you know, as papers tend to do when they get hot or wet...

 

 This is just a tidbit (nothing really related to the post)... Um... What's up with THIS, Ranger? I bought two of the same color inks not because I didn't know what I had! as the name is the same, but the color tone on the cover is different. Guess what? They're the same flippin' color. Buyer beware!

I have many Distress Inks... and thought I'd try some watercolor inks as well. I think I like the Distress Inks WAY better for the blotting effect. You'll see as you get closer.

(Looking at the pics above...) And so... I put ink down... sprayed it... then sprayed some more. What a mess!

And these (above) were my results. Yep... for a couple of those I actually tried to DRAW something... hoping the colors would blend/run. Nope. Not for me! I'm not a fan of muddy gray when that's not the color effect I was going for. I'd been brought up to believe "red + blue = purple."

My patience gone... I decided to use a new die (Hello and THANK YOU, Simon Says Stamp!) I'd literally just gotten this week to utilize some of the wasted pieces I'd done. I can do something with it, can't I?

It'd been so long since I've used a thinner die, it took two passes for me to realize I needed the thicker "adjustment" plate. Another "duh" moment in my life.

Thanks to my wonderful little portable Xyron for helping me out here. I wasn't about to apply glue to these suckers!

I placed the wrong one first one down on one of my faves (craft cardstock!)... and realized it was slightly off. With that delicate of a cut, there was NO way I was going to be able to remove it and place it correctly in tact. So, I line up the die for placement purposes, and voila! There she is... Isn't she so pretty?

In light of several people passing recently, and my lack of sympathy cards in my stash, I decided to make this a beautiful one. because when you HAVE to do one and your mind is on the sad moments, your (at least mine!) best work isn't usually there. and they're thrown together. and ugh. they don't always look so great.

But... I had to chop the cut in order for it to go through my itty bitty Xyron after looking for 20 minutes for my bigger one... I just gave up and cut the dang thing. Remember to burnish well... I do this with my finger because I relate fingers to boogers so there are no glue boogers and then with a pen/pencil along the outline and the inside line/s. The sharper the better to get in every little crack.

A side view... So you can see the raised effects of that AWESOME die! I think I'm in love and you will definitely be seeing this one (and the other one I bought!) in the future! It is super versatile.

And the finished card. I didn't believe it needed that "something else" or "just one more thing". This one... I thought and still think it's just beautiful enough in it's simplicity.

 

*** A note *** When I created this card, it was before the mass shooting of officers in Dallas. Please take a moment with me and wish the officers, the families of those slain and the rest of our country peace. This isn't the answer! All lives matter. Yours, mine... ours... We are one and the same. Please love everyone. You don't have to "like" them... But they are all your people. You must love them.

Thank you for staying with me... Back to the topic of today... WATERCOLORING! which I really do L-O-V-E, only it didn't seem to want to do what it was supposed to... Like a rebel child/me! Up next is Jearise! Today's lineup (so you can be sure to visit everyone!):

Theresa

Kim

Claudia

Debbie

Sharon

Lisa

Jearise

Denise